Funded Projects

US-India Educational Foundation – Dr. Shelby Garner, PI
Dr. Garner and a team of researchers and participants from Baylor University and Bangalore Baptist Hospital in Bengaluru, India received funding from the US-India Educational Foundation through the Indo-US 21st Century Knowledge Initiative. The two year project titled Indo-US Partnership to Transform Research Education Capacity in Simulation and Virtual Reality Simulation to Improve Community Health Education Outcomes in Karnataka, India will increase mutual understanding between the people of both countries while equipping researchers to address non-communicable disease prevention and treatment. To learn more click here.

AABC Foundation - Dr. Mary Ann Faucher, PI
Dr. Mary Ann Faucher received a research grant from the American Association of Birth Centers (AABC) Foundation to study women’s perceptions on the use of video-calls in early labor. Women will be recruited from 3-4 different settings including birth centers to participate in focus groups led by Dr. Faucher and a collaborator from Yale University. The findings will be used to inform the development of an intervention study introducing video-calls in early labor care.

Young Investigator Development Program – Dr. Lori Spies, PI
Dr. Spies was awarded a research grant through Baylor University’s Young Investigator Development Program. The study titled Optimizing population outcomes in Uganda through bundled nurse-led hypertension interventions will be carried out in Uganda in partnership with Clarke International University and the International Hospital Kampala. The study will determine the impact of the intervention on hypertension physiologic measures, medication adherence, and modification of lifestyle behaviors.

University Research Committee – Dr. Elizabeth Perry Caldwell, PI
Through the Baylor University Research Committee, Dr. Perry Caldwell was awarded a small grant titled Health Literacy of Adolescents in Texas in 2018. The purpose of this study is to describe individual and family factors influencing health literacy levels in adolescents across Texas. Adolescents and caregivers will complete the Newest Vital Sign health literacy instrument, the Family Communication Scale, and a demographics form online using the Qualtrics online platform.

Undergraduate Research and Scholarly Achievement – Dr. Shelby Garner, PI
Dr. Garner’s project titled Building Health Champions Among Youth in India for Non-Communicable Disease (NCD) Prevention was funded in 2018 through Baylor University’s Undergraduate Research and Scholarly Achievement Small Grant Program. In collaboration with undergraduate nursing students and investigators at Bangalore Baptist Hospital and Baylor University, the study aims to develop and research an interactive health educational program on type 2 diabetes and hypertension in middle and high schools in a slum subpopulation in Bengaluru, India to build “health champions” among youth and to contribute to the prevention of NCDs in India.

USAID/ASHA - Dr. Shelby Garner, PI
The United States Agency for International Development (USAID) American Schools and Hospitals Abroad (ASHA) awarded Baylor University Louise Herrington School of Nursing and Dr. Garner $652,800 to partner with Bangalore Baptist Hospital (BBH) for the construction of a Simulation Education and Research Centre for Nursing Excellence in Bengaluru, India. The grant involves funding the construction of a 4-story building with a state-of-the-art simulation center for nurses and other health professions at BBH. This facility will also provide sage living accommodations for up to 48 nurses. US best practices in simulation and nursing education will be incorporated into the program to build nurse capacity with a goal to increase health outcomes in India. To watch a video click here.

Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board Nursing Innovation Grant Program: Transition to Practice - Dr. Tanya Sudia and Dr. Dora Bradley, Co-PIs
In a collaborative partnership with Baylor Scott & White Health North and the Baylor Institute of Rehabilitation, Drs. Sudia and Bradley along with colleague and LHSON Undergraduate Program Director, Nan Ketcham, are working with a team of nurses and faculty on a grant entitled Geriatric Competency Validation Toolbox for New Nurse Graduates: Utilization of DEU's and Collaborative Clinical Partnerships for Development and Validation. This $462,135 grant provides funding for the development, testing, and validation of a tool to measure geriatric competencies among pre-licensure baccalaureate nursing students.

Laerdal Foundation– Dr. Lori Spies and Dr. Cheryl Riley, Co-PIs
Drs. Spies and Riley, in partnership with the University of Connecticut, received a $30,000 grant from the Laerdal Foundation titled Building Capacity to Improve Infant Outcomes in India. This grant will evaluate the effectiveness of an innovative NSSK PLUS teaching methodology for improving knowledge and skill retention in nurse midwives and village health care workers.

Baylor Social Innovation Collaborative - Dr. Shelby Garner, PI
In February 2017, through the Baylor Social Innovation Collaborative (BAY-SIC), Dr. Garner and colleagues from across the university were awarded seed funding to develop a virtual reality simulation prototype and to support hospital mHealth infrastructure in India.

Collaborative Faculty Research Investment Program – Dr. Mary Ann Faucher, PI
Jointly sponsored by the research offices of Baylor University, Baylor Scott & White Health, and Baylor College of Medicine, Dr. Faucher and collaborators from the Baylor University Robbins College of Health and Human Sciences, Baylor Scott & White Health, and Baylor College of Medicine were awarded funding in 2016 for a pilot study on the Identification of a Multi-Omic Predictive Signature for Preterm Birth in Obese African American Women.

Undergraduate Research and Scholarly Achievement – Dr. Marie Hastings-Tolsma, PI
Dr. Hastings-Tolsma’s project titled Navajo (Diné) and Chinese Traditional Medicine: Reconsidering Nursing Care in the U.S. was funded in 2016 through the Baylor University Office of the Vice Provost for Research through the Undergraduate Research and Scholarly Achievement Small Grant Program. The purpose of this study is to describe both Navajo (Diné) and Chinese Traditional Medicine perspectives, compare and contrast key features, and suggest how key characteristics might be applied to strengthen caring within nursing.

Undergraduate Research and Scholarly Achievement – Dr. Mary Ann Faucher, PI
Dr. Faucher’s project titled The Use of Video-Calls in Early Labor Care: Exploring Providers’ Views of the Potential Benefits and Challenges was funded in 2016 through the Baylor University Office of the Vice Provost for Research as part of the Undergraduate Research and Scholarly Achievement Small Grant Program. The study explores the views of midwives about the potential benefits and challenges of using video-calls in early labor care and is intended to inform the development of future research in exploring the feasibility of introducing video-calls in early labor care.

University Research Committee – Dr. Elizabeth Perry, PI
Through the Baylor University Research Committee, Dr. Perry was awarded a mid-range grant titled Health Literacy in Adolescents with Sickle Cell Disease: The Influence of Parental Health Literacy in 2016. The study focuses on an underserved population that is burdened by a costly health problem and fills a gap in the existing literature.

National Institutes of Health, National Institute of General Medical Sciences – Dr. Beth Hultquist, Co-PI
As part of a research project entitled Interactive Anatomy Augmented Virtual Simulation Training awarded to ArchieMD by the National Institutes of Health, National Institute of General Medical Sciences, Dr. Hultquist served as a PI for the study site at Baylor University’s Louise Herrington School of Nursing.